SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/14/2005
My Worship Time Focus: The demise of Satan for 1000 years
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Revelation 20:1-3
Message of the verse: “1 Then I saw an angel coming down from
heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And
he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and
bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he
threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would
not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed;
after these things he must be released for a short time.”
In
verse one John writes about a powerful angel that comes down from heaven and is
holding a special key and a very strong chain in his hand. The abyss is not hell and John has mentioned
this before in 9:1-2, 11; 11:7; and 17:8.
This the place that Satan will be bound for 1000 years as John writes in
verse two. In verse three it can be seen
that this strong angel with the strong chain throws Satan into the abyss and
puts a seal over it so that Satan cannot get out until he is let out in 1000
years. The verse goes on to say why
Satan is put into this abyss, and that is so that he will not be able to
deceive the nations any longer, but he will be able to do so after the 1000
years is up for a short time and after that he will go to hell for eternity,
along with all of his evil angels for that is why hell was created in the first
place.
Just
a bit of commentary on the 1000 years that is mentioned in this section, as
there are some who have different ideas of what this actually means. I have heard a saying about Scripture which
goes like this: when the plain sense of
Scripture makes sense, seek no other sense, and in this case there is no reason
to read anything into it for God’s word speaks of a 1000 year kingdom in which
the Messiah will rule over, and the one thing that has been added in the NT,
(the book of Revelation) is the amount of years it would last, for the Jews in
the OT had been promised this kingdom and this will be the fulfillment of
it. There are some who have said that
this is just figurative language and it will not happen, but I believe they are
very wrong about their thinking.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: The Scriptures are full of wonderful promises
for the future of the believer, and they will all come to pass because God
cannot lie. Though these promises have
not come to fruition yet does not mean that I should doubt God’s Word of God
Himself, but on the contrary I am to live my life in a way that will be
pleasing to the Lord because of the fact that this earth is not my home, it is
not all that God has in store for me, and I am not to live my life like the
rich man in one of Jesus’ parables where he said he would tare down his barns
and build bigger ones and then because he has is life all in order he would eat
drink and be merry. He said this because
his only perspective of life was what it was on this earth, and not what God
said it would be like for those who trusted in Him for their salvation.
The Word of God was convicting to
my heart as I read it this morning, but at the same time it has reminded me of
the hope that I have in Christ Jesus my Lord.
My Steps of Faith Today: Continue
to trust the Lord to give me direction for my life each and every day as the
proverb describes that I am to trust in the Lord with all of my heart and lean
not upon my own understanding, but in all of my ways acknowledge Him and He has
then promised to direct my paths.
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